Shillong: Alan Gemmell, Director of the British Council India and KH. Siile Anthony, Director (HRD & E), North Eastern Council (NEC), on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation and to support the knowledge ambitions and economic growth of the eight states of the North East.
The overarching MoU celebrates the British Council’s 70th anniversary in India, in particular the rich cultural connections the Northeast has had with the UK, and seeks to strengthen the relationship for the next 70 years. The MoU will support the higher education, English language, skills and cultural aspirations for the young people from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Artists and the cultural community of all the Northeastern states would get the opportunity to share culture, creativity and ideas with the UK. Government school teachers and faculty members of higher education institutions would gain access to English Language learning, quality education and internationally benchmarked assessments.
The MoU will work towards improving English communication of state civil servants, developing capacity-building initiatives in state governments, supporting improvements in the teaching of Mathematics and Science, capacity-building programmes for faculty and senior administrators of higher education institutions and it will seek to increase student and academic mobility, for all the NE states. British Council had provided technical support to the Asian Development Bank-funded ‘Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya initiative’ of the state government to enhance the employability of its youth.
Earlier this year, British Council launched Mix the City Northeast which gave 14 musicians access to an international platform and audience.
